BULAWAYO residents have once again expressed reservations following a proposal by the Bulawayo City Council (BCC) to introduce mandatory cremation for children who are 12 years and below, arguing that it is against African cultural values.
The proposal to compulsorily cremate children who are 12 years and below comes at a time when council is complaining that children’s graves are being neglected at all the city’s cemeteries.
The council said there is also dumping of stillborn babies at Mpilo Central Hospital by con artists who claim to bury them.
In the latest council minutes, the local authority said it has leased land to a private contractor at Luveve Cemetery who will be offering low-cost crematorium services. According to the report, councillors called for the banning of burial of children aged 12 years and below. Ward 5 Cllr Felix Mhaka said council should adopt the proposed policy as soon as possible.
“Residents need this service especially for stillborn babies. Cremation was not fully appreciated in African culture.
Engaging them would assist in changing the mindset and there is a need to come up with a timeframe for banning burials for those aged 12 years and below,” reads the minutes.
Ward 17 Cllr Sikhululekile Moyo said the cremation service is urgent for children as it will be relief for families struggling to bury children.
She said in her ward seven children are yet to be buried as families are struggling to raise the required resources.
In the report, the city’s Director of Health Services, Dr Edwin Sibanda said there are a lot of challenges surrounding burials of still born babies.
“There are con people at the city’s hospitals who collect money from parents of still born babies claiming to assist them with burial arrangements. Still born babies are collected from various hospitals after payment and then dumped at Mpilo Hospital mortuary,” he said.
Dr Sibanda said having a cremation facility will therefore assist a lot in addressing this problem. “Residents should be encouraged to embrace cremation to also save burial space. It should be noted that most deaths occur between 0-3 years,” he said.
Dr Sibanda said few deaths were recorded on children aged 12 years and above.
According to the report, Town Clerk Mr Christopher Dube advised council that there is a need to educate the public on the proposed cremation before the policy is adopted.
Reacting to the council’s proposal, residents said cremation is alien to the African culture.
Mr Dominic Nyoni said cremation was against cultures of most African communities.
“We know that even children are buried. If council adopts cremation as a policy it will be difficult for many families who are against such a practice. Do you keep the ashes at home? We want to bury our loved ones because we need to regularly visit the graves,” he said.
Another resident Mr Edmore Mafuma said cremation is not an option.
He said council should look for new burial spaces as opposed to pushing for a policy that is deemed to be a violation of cultural beliefs.
“If there is no burial space people will be forced to bury their loved ones in the rural areas. I don’t see people taking up the idea,” said Mr Mafuma.
Mrs Nothandi Magaya from Pumula North suburb said: “I would rather take children to my rural home and bury them there. If something is not part of your culture it will be hard to adopt.”
Another resident Mr Morgan Nkomo from Barbourfields suburb said cremation is a western culture that might be difficult to accept especially considering that Africans conduct rituals as they communicate with the deceased.
He however said people have to be open-minded when debating the issue as the challenge of burying space running out is real.
Botswana-based legal expert and historian Mr Thomas Sibanda, said cremation is not African. He said if the council is considering saving burial land, it should follow what Africans used to do before their interaction with modernity.
Renowned historian Mr Pathisa Nyathi is on record saying cremation is against African values especially considering that rituals such as umbuyiso is conducted when one dies.
Umbuyiso is a process where the spirit of the deceased is revived and in most cases brought back to the family homestead. – The Chronicle
